


Always

by sweaterpawnoctis



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Marine Biologist!Ignis, Siren!Noctis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2018-11-02 15:09:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10947069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweaterpawnoctis/pseuds/sweaterpawnoctis
Summary: "Is this how you meet all your friends? Harassing them until they give in and let you have your way?" He questioned in defeat, but the boy across from him smiled anyways as he moved to carefully curl his arm around Noctis' waist."Are you always so cold and rude to people willing to help you?""Believe it or not, not a lot of people come to my rescue," Noctis mumbled before soon they were moving. His stomach churned and flipped as he relied on Ignis to bring him closer to the shore.Or the AU where Noctis is a siren with a shitload of trust issues and Ignis is a marine biologist that is excellent in breaking down walls.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first real fanfic for this fandom and one of my favorite ideas. Let's wish it luck!

Blood mixed with saltwater as Noctis struggled to get to the surface of the ocean. Miles and miles of swimming was easy for him on a good day, but with a two foot long, deep wound slicing through the side of his tail? It was next to impossible as he tried to fight his way up. His hips were getting tired and his vision was going fuzzy, but he knew there was a red trail following after his tail, giving away his scent and the fact that he was injured.

His fins worked overtime to try and accommodate for the lack of speed from his tail. His gills felt like they were burning on the sides of his neck and his hands latched onto anything they could push against to help shove him forward. He was tired, he was sore, and Astrals was he in pain as he furrowed his eyebrows and kept going.

He had to be getting close to the surface, the coral in the reef suggested that much, but he was in waters he hadn't been in before. Swimming away was probably his worst idea yet, but he kept going until finally he saw sunlight start to glisten against the surface of the water. He was so close, almost within reach. With the last bit of effort and energy he had left, he kicked his tail harder and reached his hand out in front of him.

A gasp left Noctis as he curled his sharp fingertips around a rock, using that as leverage to pull himself up and out of the water. Sure, the blood could lead any predator to his location, but if he was up on a rock, it couldn't get him quite as easily. They'd have to work for it and at least from here, he would have a chance to fight back with his nails instead of having to focus on swimming.

With exhausted arms, he lifted himself up to the highest point on the rock and there he curled his tail securely around its surface. Now that there was no water to constantly rinse away the bleeding, Noctis could see just how bad his tail was.

The black base looked faded because of the red seeping into it and his gold lines and highlights were stained with the deep crimson that covered it. The air made the wound sting and his nose scrunch up from the pain, but what was he to do about it?

Usually, he could heal himself, let his magic seal the wound, but this time he had been injured by the magic gates of their home. Meaning, he couldn't heal that on his own. That magic was meant to injure an intruder and mark them so they could be found while naturally healing and not even the prince could wiggle his way out of that kind of enchantment.

Especially, if they had found out that he, the _prince_ , was _leaving_ Insomnia, not sneaking in.

With a heavy sigh, Noctis found himself leaning against the rock with his cheek pressed over his forearms. The sun was setting just over the horizon and the siren felt his body relax finally now that he was away from the guards looking for him. No one would think to check the surface, not after so many of their kind were killed in the last century.

With that thought in his head, he found his eyes fluttering shut as the sunlight glimmered against the ocean. By the time it had sank completely, Noctis' eyes were already closed and his breathing slowed as he came to rest.

——

When Noctis woke again, it was to splashes of water and sunlight warming his raven hair. With his eyebrows starting to crinkle at the top of his nose, he tried to tighten himself up further while getting comfortable once more. It was far too early to be waking up just yet.

Not that, that stopped the sudden shouts from filling the air around him, making the siren snap his head up and look around for the odd voice. His sharp blue eyes narrowed as he glanced over the water in front of him and saw absolutely nothing. Maybe it was just his paranoia getting the better of him.

"Hey! You're alright! Hold on tight!" He heard again, adding to his confusion because there wasn't anything in the water. Who would be trying to speak to him? It wasn't until he heard a much louder splash behind him that he popped his head over the jagged top of the rock under him to see a boy.

A boy who was coming straight for him.

Fear rose in the young prince as he straightened up his back and thought to dive back into the water, but one look down at his wet tail told him that was not an option. The wound was worse this morning, with the sides of it curled out and some sort of dry and hard substance starting to form on the outer layers of the cut.

His heart was beating so hard in his chest as he looked back at the stranger again and watched him take a dive under the water.

"No, no," Noctis whimpered as he went to lower himself into the ocean once more. Sharp rocks cut at his forearms and his chest scrapped against the pointy edges, but he figured pain was better than death at this point.

"No! The tide is coming in! You need to keep holding on. I'm coming!" The stranger shouted again for him. For all that he sounded lovely, Noctis couldn't take the chance. As the saltwater grazed over the wound while he lowered himself back into the water, his fingertips clung tighter to the rock. He had never felt torture like this before as he choked on a breath.

It turned out that the stranger, no doubt a human, was a faster swimmer than he was at the moment because soon there were hands reaching over the top of the rock to grab at Noctis' wrists.

"L-Let me go. Let me go!" He cried nervously as he wiggled one wrist as hard as he could. His battle was weak at best though and the human had the upper hand. Quite literally. With a gentle tug, the siren was being pulled around the rock, dragging his tail behind him in the water as he tensed.

He had expected the worst, for he had heard such stories of humans capturing the sea life and selling them for profit or worse, eating them. Especially, those of his kind. The humans were out for revenge for all the times the sirens had pulled their human ancestors over their ship railings and taken them as their prisoners.

He attempted to struggle again, in fear he would end up like all the others, even pushed on the boy's bare chest as he yanked himself back, but it was no use. The pain in his tail had rendered him weak and exhausted.

"Please.. I didn't do anything. I didn't take anyone. Just let me go.." He begged desperately, but the hands on his wrists just stayed, though relaxed.

"Are you alright?" The boy asked, making Noctis still for a moment in the water. It was hard to keep himself afloat right now with his tail out of commission. The stranger must have noticed that though as he led one of Noctis' hands to hold back onto the rock. The prince didn't respond in words how thankful he was for that, but the gratitude showed in his expression.

"I.. What?"

"I asked, are you alright?" He repeated.

Noctis took a moment then to search over the man's face, trying to judge if he deemed him trustworthy or not. Especially, since seeing how he was injured, he would be the easier target between the two of them, but this boy wasn't trying to overpower him. Even gave him one hand back so he could keep himself above the water. He would survive if he fell under, of course, but he would just be an obvious prey to the sharks deeper below.

Who would eat him faster? A human or a shark?

"I'm Ignis.. I saw you on my morning walk, hanging onto the rock? You looked injured," he kept going when Noctis didn't respond.

 _Ignis_ , the boy said his name was. Ignis, with his bright green eyes and dark brown hair. Ignis, with his soft hands and gentle expression. Ignis, with his pale chest, but rather strong arms. He didn't look like any siren abductor, but Noctis knew he just couldn't be too sure. He didn't even know this boy and yet, he had stopped struggling against him.

"You spoke English. I know you can understand me."

"We can understand and speak all languages," Noctis hissed a little under his breath. He may not be fighting back physically, but his tongue had always gotten the better of him.

"Most interesting," Ignis said as he glanced the siren over. Noctis only frowned when he did that, but kept his ground as he glared back.

"What are you going to do with me?" Noctis asked. He couldn't help his curiosity. If he was going to be sold, he'd figure he'd try to fight back now and make it extremely difficult. He'd even risk the water again at that point. Maybe if he put up a good enough fight, the man would leave him alone. It was wishful thinking, but hope was all the siren had right now.

"You're injured. I can help you," Ignis offered instead and okay, that was definitely _not_ what Noctis had been thinking would come out of this.

"I don't think you've realized this, _human_ , but you and I have different forms."

"I'm aware," the boy hummed as he looked down and this time past the water to take a look at Noctis' tail. One fin stayed limp against its side, which Noctis hadn't noticed before. That was probably why he couldn't seem to keep straight when swimming last night. The gash down his side was hard to see because of his black coloring, but anyone who noticed the gold would see where it had been sliced into. "But lucky for you, I am slightly more knowledgable in this area than you think."

"Because you come for us often?" Noctis spat out as he curled his nails into the rock once more. He wondered how much like a monster he must look like. Sharp canines, long and pointy nails, gills flaring against his neck, and of course the tail that swayed weakly in the water. Ignis didn't seem afraid of him though as he instead reached his free hand down into the water.

Instantly, Noctis used all his strength to snap his tail away and behind him, despite the shock and burn of agony that radiated up his body from the harsh movement.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he murmured, almost cooed if Noctis had swooned for it, but he didn't. He was use to people using that tone with him, like he was so fragile and needed to be protected, but he didn't. He could take care of himself. It just.. Didn't look like that right now as he pulled himself further away by an added small amount.

Ignis only followed.

"We should get you out of the water and find a way to bandage that up. You'll only attract attention out here."

"I'll attract attention over there as well," the prince countered with as his head tilted towards the shore.

" _If_ someone sees you."

" _You_ saw me," Noctis snapped again, but this time there was more fear than bitterness in his tone. His voice had wavered and cracked a little at the end. His blue eyes started to get glassy as he thought about being taken away from the sea. What would someone pay for something like him? Would they treat him well? Or would he just be a pet? Or maybe even a meal..

"I didn't know that you were.. _That_ until I came closer. You just looked like someone that needed help."

"Well, I don't."

"So you're just always this pale and exhausted?" Ignis shot back. That made Noctis frown as he gazed down at his body and sighed. No, usually he wasn't this pale, but the exhaustion thing was more or less accurate. He was always sleeping when given the chance.

"Is this how you meet all your friends? Harassing them until they give in and let you have your way?" He questioned in defeat, but the boy across from him smiled anyways as he moved to carefully curl his arm around Noctis' waist. The touch alone made the siren want to claw at Ignis' face, but instead his hand latched onto the stranger's shoulder and scratched down until he had a firm grip on his bicep, leaving three angry and bright red lines in their wake.

Yes, there was _definitely_ muscle under the flesh there.

"Are you always so cold and rude to people willing to help you?"

"Believe it or not, not a lot of people come to my rescue," Noctis mumbled before soon they were moving. His stomach churned and flipped as he relied on Ignis to bring him closer to the shore. The water here was relatively clear and with the sun just starting to rise, it made the water slightly hard to look at without hurting his eyes. He wasn't use to such a glare when he lived deeper in the water. Everything here was so _bright_.

They stayed quiet as Noctis held onto Ignis, not wanting to slip from his arms and when they got to the shore, he half-expected the boy to just drag him over the sand.

He didn't.

Instead, Ignis stopped to stand when Noctis assumed he could touch the ground once more. Arms then scooped under his tail, causing a soft sound of surprise to come from the siren. Instinctively, Noctis curled his own arms around Ignis' shoulders, holding on for dear life.

When the cool air hit his tail once more, his entire body seized up and he was guilty of turning his head into the human's shoulder-to-neck junction as he tried to hide his pain. Much to his luck, Ignis didn't comment on that as he brought Noctis to sit on a much dryer rock.

"When did this happen?" He prompted as Noctis let his hands slowly slide down and off of Ignis' arms. He already missed the warmth. He had never felt something as warm as that; being carried. He thought he should be embarrassed by that, but really he only craved it more.

"Before sunset," Noctis admitted as Ignis hummed to himself brought his fingertips to lightly touch the scales over the wound.

"It's infected. Your scales around the wound? They're lifting up and trying to come off. You've done damage here. This will take time to heal," Ignis continued. Noctis furrowed his eyebrows as he reached his hand up to push his hair back from his eyes. His tail did look bad and the scales were definitely trying to pull away from their host, but he wasn't sure what to do with that. "What did this to you?"

Noctis didn't respond to that one, but he also didn't flinch and yank away when Ignis started to try and work around the scales. It hurt and impulsively he out stretched his hand out to grab onto Ignis' bicep again. His nails cut into the flesh as he tried to silently warn that the stranger was causing pain, but Ignis seemed unfazed. Fingertips lifted all of the affected scales, glancing under them, but Ignis' own furrowed eyebrows made Noctis doubt.

"It's hard to tell in this light what is damaged and what isn't. Your coloring is so dark, it makes it difficult to determine what's blood and what's you," he explained before pulling his lips to the side and placing a hand on his hip. Noctis' eyes flickered up to meet the human's, silently hoping he could help him. Not that Noctis knew what he would do after being helped. He couldn't go back home and he couldn't stay here. The moment someone caught onto him he would be taken away.

With a sigh, he looked down at his wound again and reached his own fingertips to touch around the broken scales and deeper flesh. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but seeing his tail in ruins like that worried him. What if he never got to use it again? He loved his tail, it granted him his freedom. He knew it was an appealing one and showed his status back home, but it was literally a part of him. In body, mind, and soul.

"Can you fix it?" The siren asked, keeping his voice low.

"I can certainly try. I'll probably have to take you back to my place— Hey, don't look at me like that," he cut himself off before giving Noctis a pointed look. "Nothing will happen to you. I have a brother, a younger one, probably around your age, but he won't be a problem and he's off with someone for the day anyway."

"How old do you think I am?" Noctis asked with a raised eyebrow. It was the least important thing of Ignis' entire statement, but he was curious to know how the human saw him.

"You look around your late teens. Maybe a year or two older. Assuming it's true about how you age within the same reasonable time frame as humans." Noctis scrunched his nose up in slight disgust at being compared to humans. They were monsters that terrorized his kind.

Then again, weren't sirens just the same to humans?

"I take it you're not going to tell me how old you are?" Ignis asked rhetorically as he bent over and pulled up some weird material from the sand. What was even more interesting was the fact that then Ignis shoved his arms into it and used buttons to snap it over his chest.

"Maybe you'll figure it out. You seem like a smart human," Noctis challenged instead before making another small gasping sound to being picked up once more. He didn't stop his frown from showing at the motion.

"Let's get you back to mine and see what we can do for you."

"Can't wait," the siren grumbled.


	2. Chapter 2

The travel wasn’t too bad, Noctis supposed, but the moving contraption Ignis had gotten him into definitely wasn’t as smooth as the transportation he was use to. It was bumpy, made funny noises, and had these weird strap things that the human _insisted_ that he wear over his chest and lap. Ignis had looped it around his waist after laying him in the back, allowing his tail to lie out on the entire seat.

 

One towel, as Ignis called it, was placed under his tail to keep the blood from seeping onto the seat as another was placed over it. The top one was damp, which Noctis figured was because the human had used it to dry his own body off. _Disgusting_ , really, because it was dirty, but he hadn’t complained.

 

It was quiet as Noctis leaned his cheek against the back of the seat, watching out the hole in the vehicle to see the sun come up over the water and start to bring some rather decent heat. Ignis had put down the.. What were they called? Transparent mirrors? Maybe? That let in a nice breeze that dried Noctis’ deep black with blue highlights hair.

 

By the time they turned a few corners and the sun was behind them, their transportation stopped, and Ignis was getting out. This time when he came for him, he opened the door behind Noctis, allowing his arms to curl around his waist while tugging until he could slip his other arm under the tail once more.

 

“Hold on,” he hummed and the siren did as he was told. He wrapped one arm around Ignis’ neck and let his other hand press over his opposite shoulder, holding lightly as Ignis maneuvered the towel until it was covering Noctis’ tail completely.

 

Where they were, there were only three houses next to each other, but if Noctis had to describe them they were rather beautiful. They had light colored wood, unlike the wood that ships were made out of, and interesting plant life. Nothing was floating or had to be strung together with something else to keep it in its place. This was nothing like Insomnia, but it didn’t appear unwelcoming as Ignis took them around some barrier and through a sliding transparent mirror.

 

“You leave your house open like this?”

 

“There’s no real crime here,” Ignis stated as they went up some platform that took them to another level of his home. Inside were shells and starfish on the walls, little bottles of sand, a box in the wall with a jellyfish swimming around. It was almost like his own room, with little trinkets and fish, but this was different. There was air that surrounded them instead of water and it made his gills in his neck start to disappear into the skin since they weren’t needed during their journey.

 

“So you just trust everyone not to come into your home?”

 

“You have a lot of trust issues, don’t you?” The human asked, producing a frown from Noctis and even have him turn his head away as they made their way to an interesting room. Here, there was a small half box on the floor with a little seat around it that Ignis placed him down on. There were silver handles he was twisting and turning and soon water was filling up the box. His interest must have been noticed when Ignis glanced at him because soon he was explaining, “this is a tub. You fill it with water and it will hold it until you are done. I’m going to put you inside to keep your tail wet so I can try and clean it out.”

 

A _tub_. What a silly name for something like this. It was a box, _duh_. Dumb human.

 

“You’re being awfully nice to something you should consider a monster,” Noctis murmured as he looking down at his hips where his skin subtly mixed with shimmery black and gold scales. A few of which dotted along his ribs and his back, covering his scar gracefully.

 

“You’re awfully trusting of someone you think wants to turn you in for a profit,” Ignis shot back. Blue eyes blinked once, twice, three times in surprise at the comeback before his head was shaking and he was looking down at his hands again.

 

“My options are rather limited, aren’t they? I could have stayed out there and gotten attacked or I could risk getting help from someone that _might_ not attack me,” he explained as the water started to fill in the tub. It only got about half way before Ignis was turning it off and he was coming over to Noctis again. His hands were gentle once more as he hooked one under Noctis’ arms to lift and used the other to guide his lower half into the water.

 

“You fancy your tail.”

 

“I need it for survival.”

 

“But,” Ignis objected once Noctis was settled in the water. “It means more than just survival for you. I know of sea life that can regrow appendages if harmed, but you can’t, can you?”

 

No, he couldn’t. If his tail was gone, so was he. He wouldn’t be able to survive without it, but Ignis was also right; it was more than that. His tail was _freedom_. It was his only ticket away from his betrothed. It was his beauty. He didn’t think he was very attractive, unlike everyone in his home apparently, but he did find his tail to hold some magnificence.

 

“What’s your name?” Ignis questioned as he went over to some shelves and plucked things off of them. A bottle of sorts, a white box, and another towel. He placed them down on the seat of the tub before pushing the fabric up that covered his arms up until they were holding at his elbows.

 

“Noctis,” he gave against his better judgment. His arms coiled around his middle as he looked up at the end of his tail hanging over the side of the tub. His fin was slightly clipped on the left side, which meant swimming would have to be adjusted.

 

“ _Noctis_ ,” Ignis repeated and Noctis almost rolled his eyes and made some comment about how he had _just_ said that, but soon there was some pain against his tail and instead he was hissing.

 

“Be careful, that hurts.” In Ignis’ defense, he drew his hands back immediately and instead inspected the wound without touching.

 

“I think I can numb the area around it with a spray and that should take away the pain while I work on it. I’ll have to remove the scales first and then see what needs to be done. I don’t think I can save these ones. They’re going to rot out,” he said and although his expression appeared neutral, Ignis’ tone proclaimed sympathetic. The pure kindness made Noctis’ shoulders relax just a bit.

 

“If.. If that’s what you have to do, I’ll agree to it,” Noctis whispered as his fingertips came down to brush over the top of his tail just below his belly button. “Why are you helping me, Ignis?” He prompted, curiosity glowing in his blue eyes, as he viewed the boy over again.

 

“You’re injured and you were alone,” Ignis said back easily enough as he opened that little white box and started to take things out of it. Noctis didn’t know what any of them were, but they definitely looked intimidating as he leaned his cheek against the cool surface of the tub.

 

Blue eyes considered Ignis starting to spray something on his tail and the siren only tensed for a moment from the cold. It only took a few seconds before soon he couldn’t feel most of his tail around the wound. It should have been alarming, but after all that pain from the last few hours, it honestly felt relieving as he blinked lazily.

 

Fingers worked to remove his scales and the more that disappear, the blander and emptier his tail looked. It hurt his heart as he witnessed the pile next to Ignis’ leg grow with more and more black and gold pieces, but he had to admit, they did look unhealthy. They wouldn’t have lasted much longer on his tail and had he let them sit, they would have injured him more when they ripped off themselves.

 

“They’ll start to grow back. In a few days,” Ignis stated, like Noctis didn’t know how his own body worked, but the words did bring some comfort. Maybe this human wasn’t all too dishonest.

 

Noctis breathed slowly during the process and somewhere between the last scales being removed and cream being placed on his open wound, his eyes started to droop. He hadn’t noticed it until he felt fingers touch his hair, pushing it back from his forehead. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he didn’t feel threatened enough to open his eyes. So, he let it be. He let those fingers work through his hair and he felt himself getting heavier as his exhaustion started to come back to him.

 

“You may rest now, Noctis. No harm will come to you here,” was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep inside the tub.

 

When he woke up, he was alone and still in the tub. The water must have been replaced seeing as it was still warm or maybe that was because one of those transparent mirrors by the tub was opened now and the sun was beaming directly on him. It felt wonderful, warm, and familiar as he brought a hand up to rub his eyes. A yawn passed through his lips as he went to push himself up, but then froze at the lack of weight.

 

His tail was missing.

 

Panic shot through his body as he tried to locate scales or fins, but instead he was met with one bare leg and one covered in white. They were hanging over the edge of the tub, just like his tail had been, but this had never happened to him before. He had never let his tail dry out because although legends alleged that the royal line could and that they would grow legs, no one had attempted to in centuries. Humans were the enemies and they had to stay as far away from them as they could. Though that still didn’t make sense because he was still in water. How had he gotten _legs_?

 

With weak effort, he tried to push his body up again, attempting to get out of the tub, but he failed as his hand slipped on the outside, causing him to crash back down into the water. A current of pain radiated from his bum up his spine, no doubt from how hard he fell into the tub.

 

It was then that he heard voices outside the room, causing him to tense as he looked around and considered his options. He didn’t actually have any, however, seeing as he couldn’t even get out of the tub, but eventually he recognized one of them. _Ignis_. The question was though: who was the other and why were they there?

 

“Iggy, you can’t just hide something in the _only_ bathroom and then not tell me _why_ I can’t use it,” the new voice huffed as footsteps came closer to the door.

 

“I didn’t think you’d be home so fast. Just give me a moment to— _Prompto_!” He heard Ignis protest, but it was too late.

 

The door opened with a semi-bang and Noctis couldn’t stop the way his body shot up in both surprise and fear. However, the body that came in definitely didn’t look like a threat. It was lanky with messy blond hair that appeared a little wet. It was also defenseless as it was bare over its chest and only wearing something between its hips and its mid-thighs. Noctis could take him on if he had to. Maybe.

 

“Whoa, Iggy! You could have just said you had someone over!” The blond, who Noctis now assumed was Prompto, laughed as he covered his eyes and shook his head. Was this not something to take so seriously? “I mean, he’s naked! Give a guy some warning!”

 

“I didn’t—“ Ignis stopped. Sea foam met cerulean as the man glanced at the siren and Noctis only shook his head minimally. He didn’t have the words to explain why he looked like them and not himself. “Prompto, please leave the gentleman alone while he bathes,” the boy pleaded and there was a light dust of pink over Ignis’ cheeks. That was cute. Teasing material for later.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, of course!” Prompto cheered as he turned his way out of the bathroom and headed for the room outside. Not before whispering what Noctis was sure was supposed to be a secret, “he’s _cute_ though. Good job!” If only the blond knew that his hearing was definitely better than theirs.

 

Once he was gone, Ignis was shutting the door once more and coming over to the tub where Noctis had his back pressed against the wall.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think he would come home before his movie. How did you..?” He trailed off, but again, Noctis had no explanation as Ignis let his fingers start to tact the sticky material back down onto his new limb.

 

“I don’t know. This has never happened to me before. I mean.. I’ve heard of it happening, when our tails try out? But.. But I’m still in water. What have you done to me?” Noctis accused. What other rationalization was there? He had fallen asleep with a tail and woke up without one. Ignis was the only one that had been there, right? It had to be _his_ fault.

 

“I haven’t done anything, I promise you. I only cleaned out your wound and then tried to wrap it up so the disinfectant would stay in place.”

 

“But then—“

 

“It must be because you’re injured,” Ignis thought out loud as he inspected over the legs on the tub edge. He looked fascinated, which of course had Noctis concerned, but he let those hands touch the fresh and exposed skin anyway and tried not to pull away when they started to make him tingle. It felt funny, but it didn’t feel awkward.

 

“But I’ve been injured before, I don’t understand.”

 

“It could be that as a human, you could heal faster. The damage that was done to your tail was extensive. It could have used more room to heal,” Ignis explained before observing Noctis. He suddenly seemed concerned when doing that and the siren didn’t understand why. He flinched a bit when Ignis’ hand came for his cheek, but he discovered after that the touch was nice, soothing even, just like the thumb that brushed under his eye.

 

“Don’t cry. We’ll figure this out. In any case, this could be seen as a positive. Less chance of you getting found out as you heal.”

 

It was true; these legs could provide a sense of security. If he could figure out how to use them and not look like a clumsy crabbed wait! Cry? Was he crying? He lifted a hand up to lightly press his own fingertips to his cheek and sure enough, they came back damp.

 

“Will you help me up, please?” He asked, voice softer now.

 

It was easier to get him out of the tub and into Ignis’ arms with his legs. He imaged he probably weighed less as well, but his concepts of that were a little skewed. Underwater, things didn’t have weight. Not like here on the surface.

 

Once he was placed on the ground again, his arms curl around Ignis’ neck as one of the human’s arms found its way around his waist, holding him up as he was dried off. Now that they were closer and the initial fear of being harmed was smoothed over, he could appreciate the details of Ignis that he couldn’t earlier.

 

For example, he smelt _incredible_. Like nothing he had ever smelt before. Though that wasn’t very hard seeing as he had lived under water for all his years. From here he could see, even feel, the slight stubble against Ignis’ jaw as it brushed against his cheek when the boy wiped down his back. His body was very firm, strong, really, and Noctis hadn’t actually appreciated that when he was in the water.

 

His leg almost gave out the moment Ignis’ hand was placing the towel onto the counter, but the arm around him caught him before he dropped to the floor. He was thankful for that as well as his hands slid down to hold onto Ignis’ shoulders to keep standing. Or attempting to, anyways.

 

“How do you balance on these?” He asked, looking up. What he saw surprised him though as Ignis wasn’t looking back at him. His eyes actually were found to be focused on something behind him. “Is there.. Something wrong with me?”

 

“No, no. It’s just-” Ignis protested, but shook his head in what looked like defeat. Noctis shouldn’t have felt it, but he did; the worry that maybe he wasn’t as attractive as he was with his tail.

 

Not that it should have mattered at all because Ignis wasn’t anyone of interest to Noctis. Ignis was a _human_ , someone he could never be with, and he didn’t even know the boy. However, he also thought about the fact that well.. Ignis was saving his life and he was being so kind to him. Was that something he needed to worry about?

 

No. No, it was not. Once he was healed, he would leave, and until then Ignis was only allowed to touch if it meant it was beneficial to the siren. That was all. So why was he fretting about Ignis finding him beautiful or not? _Instincts_ , he told himself.

 

“You’re naked, Noctis. It’s indecent and I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable by staring. We should get you into some clothing,” he offered instead as he moved to pick Noctis up once more.

 

 _I could get use to this_ , he thought.

 

He was brought over to a bed that had lovely, fluffy, and very soft white sheets. His fingers curled into the fabric for a moment as he waited for Ignis to grab him some clothing. That was what Ignis had called it, right? When he came back, he was given three articles of fabric. "Underwear, shorts, and a tank top," Ignis had explained. With a bit of help, he was put into the black shorts that went down to the middle of his thigh, which went over underwear that was extremely uncomfortable. Ignis then put the stripped tank top over his head and then chest and nodded his head.

 

“It’s a good thing you’re about Prom’s size,” he conducted before helping Noctis sit down once more. “Now, let’s see what that wound looks like with your new skin."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Just wanted to say thank you all for being so patient with me. My college courses finally got to my hard, core courses and damn, those are a bitch, but it is summer and feeling good about some chapters!

It was hard to stay patient and still as Ignis started to remove the white on his leg to see the wound underneath. Noctis was curious though to see how his wound would look on flesh. That curiosity died the moment his new skin was revealed. It almost appeared to be worse. 

 

There was exposed blood in the tear and it covered from the inside of the leg to down and around the middle where it bends. The flesh was slightly turned out and there was some weird clear ooze trying to puff up over the wound. 

 

It was disgusting, really, and Noctis didn’t hesitate to turn his face away as Ignis slid his hands up the backs of his legs. For a second, the siren flinched and tensed, even glanced down to give the other boy a stern look, but soon Ignis’ intentions were made obvious when Noctis was slowly being raised to sit on the bed. That allowed his legs to dangle just-so over the edge of it as Ignis went back to the room with the tub. 

 

“I’ll have to completely rework the bandaging now that your leg has.. Appeared,” he explained. He was gone for a minute or two before returning with the supplies he had earlier when Noctis was still in the water. “This will make it easier to take care of. I can see it and work on it better. I can even use this numbing gel for when I stitch it up.” 

 

“N-Numbing gel?” Noctis asked nervously as he looked over the box being opened. 

 

“It’s nothing of concern, I promise you. It will just feel cold before numbing the nerves so you don’t feel the pain as I stitch. It might also help to look away while I do so,” he suggested as his fingers pulled out a thick, but small blue tube to show off. Once it was placed to the side, Ignis removed the rest of the white that had been placed around his leg and tossed it to the side. 

 

That was when the weird part game. 

 

The boy moved to be in front of him, so he could work on the leg easier, Noctis assumed, but then was touching the back of his leg again to lead it to be placed on Ignis’. His eyebrows knitted together, but he didn’t move. At this point, he knew that Ignis was aware to some extent what he was doing. 

 

“Why don’t you tell me some things about yourself to distract you while I work. Might help to keep your mind off it.”

 

“You’d like that, wouldn't you?” Noctis scoffed and he was surprised when he is met with Ignis flat out saying, 

 

“Yes, I would. Is that such a crime?” 

 

Noctis stayed silent for a moment after that, but his eyes were still glued to Ignis and his hands as he sponged a white ball into the wound. That had him hissing and jerking the leg up into his chest before Ignis grabbed it and pulled it back down into place. 

 

“If you would work with me, this would go by a little smoother.”

 

“Well, if you had told me it would fucking hurt-” 

 

“Language and you have a gaping wound on your leg, Noctis. Your skin is peeled back, it is exposed. What did you think it would feel like? Cotton candy?” Ignis snapped and okay, Noctis could see now that this boy, as soft and kind as he appeared to be, was not a pushover. Mental note taken. 

 

It was another awkward moment of silence with Ignis dabbing at his leg and pouring weird clear liquids over it before finally the curiosity started to eat away at Noctis’ thoughts. 

 

“What.. Is cotton candy?” He asked, voice quieter. Mostly in attempt to conjure up a mild peace between them as he forced his leg to stay still. 

 

Whatever was getting to Ignis before seemed to have had abandoned him by the time he was speaking again. That was a comforting feeling to Noctis as he brought a hand down to his opposite leg, at the part where it would bend if he so chose to. Curling his fingers around it to squeeze whenever the pain got to him. 

 

“It’s a type of sweet. It’s light and airy and when it sits on your tongue, it dissolves into liquid sugar. I believe Prompto has some in the kitchen if you would like to try it after this.”

 

“Like a treat? Isn’t that how you treat your pets?” Noctis asked with a raised eyebrow and an insulted tone. 

 

“This would also be far more civil of you would not give negative connotations to everything I said,” Ignis sighed and it wasn’t like Noctis didn’t know what he was doing either. 

 

He was keeping himself from getting too familiar and attached. He didn’t want to let someone in that would eventually get bored or him or realize the money they could make off him. Or finally just saw that he looked better as dinner than a pet. He’d almost prefer to be a pet with that thought in mind. They got better treatment, he believed. Humans loved their pets. 

 

He had seen the humans walk them before along the shore. Stopping to adore on them or laying with them so they can enjoy the water. They are given hugs and kisses, soft touches to the cheek. Little pats on the head. It would be degrading if he thought the pets didn’t want it, but they lived for it and Noctis.. Well, maybe he wanted someone to treat him like that, too. 

 

Loved. 

 

But that was a silly idea for a prince, wasn’t it? Arranged marriages were for alliances, money, and sometimes protection. Or in Noctis’ case: debts. 

 

But wasn’t that why he came up to the surface in the first place? To find real love? That or escape. Both tempting desires.

 

“I’d like to try some,” he whispered after some time. By now, Ignis was spraying the tip of the tube over his wound. He only tensed for a moment before relaxing once again. Ignis had been right: this stuff did kill the pain and when the boy started to work the strange sharp needle into his leg to pull the skin together again, he barely felt it. 

 

“Then we shall share some once we are done. Just a few more moments.” 

 

Noctis let the silence overtake them again and this time, it didn’t feel so awkward. He simply watched as Ignis treated his leg and maybe he found himself liking the way the other’s touch felt against the skin that wasn’t numb. His touch was so light, like a brush by, and warm. It soothed Noctis deep down to his bones. To the point where he barely even realized that Ignis had finished his leg and was soon wrapping it to keep it covered. 

 

Once Ignis appeared to be satisfied with his finished work, he pulled away and put everything back into the box. He departed again into the other room and during that time, Noctis attempted to stand himself back onto his legs. The left one hurt and Noctis guessed that was because that spray doesn’t go everywhere, but it wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t bare it. 

 

It did, however, mess up his balance even more and within seconds he was coming down to the floor again. Except, his body never hit the ground. Instead, two arms slipped under him and led him back up. Instinctively, Noctis reached his hands out to latch onto what apparently was starting to become Noctis’ preferred part of Ignis: his biceps. 

 

“Careful, now. You’ll need to get use to those and work them before they will support you,” Ignis breathed right into Noctis’ ear as he got him settled into his legs again. 

 

Noctis really couldn't get over to how relaxed Ignis was around him. He was so willing to help him even though he knew exactly what he was. 

 

“How long will that take?” 

 

“It depends how hard you try to push it. We can get you use to them though. Maybe a few exercises a day will help,” Ignis offered before soon there was an arm curling around Noctis’ waist. A sharp inhale came from the siren from the touch, but he tried to appear normal so it wouldn’t have too much thought brought to it. 

 

Affection.. It wasn’t something that came to his type very often. It wasn't something they do, but he knew the humans did. He was interested to find out what he could about this. So far, he understood the appeal. 

 

They took a few steps together, meaning Ignis walked and Noctis leaned into him. That probably didn’t help him a lot, to be honest, but Ignis didn’t comment on it, so Noctis let it be. 

 

Instead, he focused on the layout of the house. The room they had come from was at the end of the tunnel and the space with the tub he had been in earlier was across from it. There were two other closed doorways that led to places he couldn't see. What really got him was the feeling against his.. What were these things called again? The end of his legs? Flippers? Yes, flippers, of course! Whatever was under his flippers, it was soft, like algae almost. Maybe not as soft, but still. Pleasant. 

 

The most peculiar room would probably have had to be the one they had first entered, that Ignis was leading him through again now. There was a long black sponge he assumed humans used for resting like sirens did underwater with a clear table in front of it. It faced a wall with another weird type of mirror on it that had moving images on it. That caught Noctis’ attention and he watched it the entire way towards this other section that was much brighter and had different foreign items in it. 

 

“Here, we’ll get you up,” he heard Ignis, or at least he thought he did, but he was so distracted the images that he barely registered that once again Ignis’ hands were on him. Up behind his legs before adding pressure onto them and oh, his flippers weren’t touching the ground anymore. 

 

His hand flew out to gain some sort of balance against Ignis’ shoulder, but it slid away once he was on the surface of.. What was this thing? It was almost like a table, but.. There was no space under it. It was solid. Like a block. Maybe it was a shaped rock? Odd and a bit uncomfortable either way, but Ignis standing between his legs while he sat here? He liked that. 

 

“I believe Prompto has a few flavors. I will let you choose which one you will want to test,” Ignis hummed as he leaned over Noctis’ shoulder towards the weird door behind him. Inside, there were shelves filled with a variety of things Noctis had never seen before. His hand reached out to touch some of the boxes, all having symbols on them he didn’t understand, but Ignis wasn’t bothered as he looked for his sweet. 

 

After a moment, he leaned back and closed the door, holding three small silver packages in his hand as he fanned them out for Noctis look glance over. 

 

“We have blue, presumed to be blue raspberry, a pink for bubble gum, or a purple that I do not know the flavor of,” he explained as he flipped one of the back pages over to read. With him distracted, Noctis stole one of the packages and brought it closer to himself, noticing just how light it really was as he did so. “Cherry. Well, that is entirely misleading.”

 

“What is your favorite?” Noctis questioned as he slipped the package back into Ignis’ hand once again. 

 

“If these were my options. I believe cherry.”

 

“Cherry. Let’s do that one.” 

 

The other two options were placed on the space next to Noctis and the one they had chosen found itself in Ignis’ rather nice hands. Noctis didn’t know if he meant that because of their appearance or because of how they felt on him. 

 

Would he get to feel that again? 

 

A small popping sound came from the bag as Ignis opened it. It only startled Noctis for a moment, but that feeling cleared up as Ignis pulled out the purple.. The only way Noctis could think to describe it was fluffy. It was just a ball of pure purple fluff that Ignis used his fingers to delicately pull a piece of it off. 

 

A finger was pointed at Noctis, a little fragment of the fluff ball attached, and with very little hesitation, Noctis reached up and stole the piece. Though, he didn’t place it in his mouth until he watched Ignis. Just in case. 

 

Another piece was removed and Noctis’ eyes were glued onto Ignis sticking his tongue out - a sight Noctis almost smiled out because it seemed so childish compared to Ignis’ demeanor - and placing the fluff on it. His blue eyes widened when he noticed the fluff start to do just as Ignis had said; dissolve into liquid the boy then sucked down and swallowed. 

 

“Not nearly as bad as I had assumed it would be,” he said, sounding satisfied. That was enough for Noctis to try. He ended up doing the same as Ignis had, tongue out and everything, but the sight hadn’t prepared him for the taste. 

 

It was sickeningly sweet and had a flavor he had never before experienced. His nose scrunched up a bit as he adapted to the taste. Whereas at first he didn’t think he would approve, as it melted into his mouth, he found he definitely enjoyed this snack. So when Ignis offered another piece, he was quick to snatch it up and place it in his mouth as well. 

 

“I like this,” he smiled, not realizing that his lips were starting to stain with the dye from the candy. 

“Unfortunately we cannot survive off of this alone. We will need to find you something else you will endure,” Ignis replied. That didn't stop him from offering out another piece though just as Prompto came into the room and looked over at them. 

 

“Hey, Ig. Are you going to tell me your friend’s name now?” He asked as he opened the weird and tall rectangle thing behind Ignis. Inside, there was more food of all different sorts. How many types did humans need? Leaning over to get a better view over Ignis’ shoulder, he witnessed Prompto take out a small bottle with something orange inside. 

 

When it was opened, Noctis immediately curled his nose again and leaned back. Whatever was in that bottle, it smell acidic and not the kind that Noctis was used to. 

 

“My name is Noctis,” Noctis stated, tone not nearly as soft as it had been moments ago. Sure, he may trust Ignis to a certain extent right now, out of desperation, but he didn’t know this other human. Though, there was something to be said about how Ignis appeared to have kept his little.. Secret identity. 

 

“Noctis, cool! I didn't even know Ig was seeing anyone. Usually he at least gives me a heads up.”

 

“See-”

 

“Noct and I wanted to keep this between him and I for awhile. He’s a boy of privacy,” Ignis interrupted him and what was that? A nickname? In the past, others had called him that, but Ignis saying it? It sounded almost nice. 

 

_ Almost _ . 

 

At least he wasn’t exactly wrong. 

 

“Right. That’s awesome, dude! Iggy is pretty private, too, and maybe a little lonely. Glad to have someone keeping him company,” Prompto cheered as he turned the corner to go sit onto the sponge. 

 

“Prompto-” 

 

“Nah, no pressure. Just gotta be prepared for Ig being by the water all the time. Hope you like the sea life, Noct!”

 

“The sea?” Noctis thought out loud, turning to Ignis to get a new look over the boy. He liked the ocean, that was an attractive quality. Noctis knew so much about the sea. It would be interested to learn what Ignis knew.

 

And how wrong he would be. 

 

“I’m a marine biology student. For a lot of my program, I do hands on research down by the beach. I was taking some notes by the tide pools this morning when I had found you.” Tide pools. Oh, how Noctis loved those. Getting to see the baby crabs and sometimes little octopi crawl their way through one pool to the next. Out where humans don’t come often, he enjoyed laying out and sunbathing while letting his fingers get surrounded by the sea anemones. 

 

“He even scuba dives!” Prompto called over from the sponge, lifting his arm up with his bottle as if answering a question that wasn’t asked. 

 

“Scuba dives?” Noctis asked much quieter this time, not wanting to give away that as a siren, he knew nothing about such things. 

 

“I can swim deeper under the water’s surface and not have to worry about oxygen because I have a tank to supply it,” he whispered as he crumpled up the cotton candy package and tossed it into the container to the side. 

 

That was also an attractive thought. 

 

_ Stop it, this is temporary _ , he mentally scolds himself. 

 

“I like the ocean, but if you want to see the cooler things, you’re on the wrong side of your island,” Noctis smirked. He was challenging Ignis, easily, to see just how far he would go for his research. “Maybe once I am healed, I will show you. Don’t worry, I’ll keep the others from biting off you,” he continued, voice deeper and husker as he lifted a finger to touch the underside of Ignis’ jaw. He leaned in, letting Ignis feel the smirk against his lips as he breathed, “I’ll just tell them you’re mine.”

 

The words made Ignis shiver, Noctis felt it against his fingertip before he tapped it once against the skin and pulled away to drop his hand once more. He then grabs for another silver package before poking through it with his sharp nail ripping it open to steal another cotton piece. 

 

“Unless you’re too scared to swim with the sharks.”

 

“I think you underestimate me,” Ignis murmured while keeping eye contact with Noctis. Good. Now this was getting entertaining. 

 

“We’ll have to see.” 

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Finding something Noctis was actually willing to eat was the biggest fight of them all. The morning and afternoon exercises to help his legs strengthen, he could handle. The overly floral scent that came off the clothing he was borrowing wasn’t ideal, but he could make it work. However, these weird cheese and crackers Prompto tried to get him to eat and the disgusting green stuff that was definitely not seaweed Ignis was trying to shove down his throat? He wasn’t having that. He pushed it away or literally turned his nose up at it at times. No way that was making its way back onto his tongue. He could feel Ignis getting frustrated with him on that and on the third day, the older boy had finally had it. 

 

Noctis had been sunbathing on his stomach on the small balcony, body bare except for the baby blue shorts he was told he had to wear if he wanted to lay out where people could see him. (Under the water, nudity was obviously not too much of an issue and really, Noctis didn’t understand what was wrong with what was below his waist that had Ignis constantly throwing articles of clothing at him. 

 

A bit dramatic, if one were to asked him).

 

He had been interrupted by an opening slider door and a bag being dropped in front of him. With furrowed eyebrows, Noctis had peeked one eye open, squinting it a bit when too much light crossed them. Ignis couldn’t even block the light for him? Rude. 

 

“You need to eat,” Ignis said firmly, flickering his gaze towards the bag before looking at Noctis again. “You can’t live off of cotton candy forever and nothing else has been working for you, so I decided we are trying something else. Open the bag, go on.” 

 

The curiosity of what exactly Ignis could have possibly obtained that he thought Noctis would like was getting to him more than his annoyance of being interrupted. He supposed he could always come back to sunbathing later and his stomach was a little upset at the lack of food he had been presenting to it. 

 

Cautious fingers go for the bag, peeling the flaps apart before reaching inside to grab what felt like a little, slick box. His confusion deepened as he pulled it out and placed it down in front of him. After fighting for a moment or two with the container’s lid, Noctis lost his patience and instead stabbed it with a sharp nail and slid it down the plastic to cut it open. That helped with getting his fingers inside and being able to yank the top off. Immediately, his nose was filled with familiar scents. 

 

Fish. 

 

And not the usual  _ human-cooked _ kind of fish Ignis had tried with him the first night he stayed here. Noctis nearly threw up just at the smell of it. No, it was  _ raw _ fish. Oh, how he had to give kudos to the human for this one. 

 

He only inspected the fish for a small moment: stabbing it with his nail before picking it up. Under the little slice of fish was something white, fluffy looking. The siren wasn’t too interested in that part, but the coloring on the fish? It looked to die for and Noctis was quick to suck the fish off his finger and into his mouth. 

 

Now, he had a lot of raw fish, of course, being under the surface and all. It was his main source of food, but this was fresh and cleaned. No bones, no scales, nothing. It was the best thing Noctis had ever tasted and easily he searched for another bite. 

 

Salmon. Yellowtail. Tuna. 

 

Noctis was so pleased, as well as his stomach, and he wasted no time cleaning up the rest of his meal. 

 

He was only vaguely aware of Ignis leaning against the wall with his bicep, arms crossed over his chest as he watched him. Usually, Noctis would have told the boy off for staring, he wasn’t a damn attraction, but honestly, he was just so happy to have something to put into his stomach. 

 

Once he finished all the pieces of fish, he left the weird white stuff on the plate, untouched, before pushing the container back to Ignis. 

 

“I take it that was something you will tolerate?” Ignis prompted while crouching down to pick up Noctis’ mess. A slow nod was given in response as Noctis flickered his gaze up to meet Ignis’ eyes. 

 

This was where he thought he needed to use some of those manners that had been drilled into him when he was a child. Ignis, a mere human, had gone out of his way to try and find something Noctis liked. He still hadn't tried to sell him and looked at his injury twice a day to make sure he was healing properly. Or as properly as he figured a siren like Noctis should be. 

 

It took longer it should have and Noctis heard the sigh Ignis gave when he picked up the trash and stood back up to leave, but eventually, his hand is reaching out before his mind has made up its mind. His fingers curl carefully into Ignis’ pant leg, making sure to keep his claws out of the way. He almost thought Ignis would just ignore him and push on, but he stopped and waited. Just as Noctis had hoped. 

 

“ _ Thank you _ ,” he whispered, tone not nearly as guarded as it usually was when they spoke. He wasn't oblivious, he knew he had an attitude when out in situations he did not trust. “For the fish. I didn't realize how hungry I had been. So.. So, thank you or whatever..” He ended up trying to brush off anyway as he shrugged and pulled his hand back to himself. 

 

“You're welcome,” Ignis said back and when Noctis glanced up, the smile he was being given made Noctis’ cheeks color. He told himself they were already tinted from the sun, that he had been out on the balcony for awhile, but seeing how often he did this and how well his skin tanned, he wasn't fooling himself. He wasn't even fooling Ignis as the older boy slipped back inside, leaving Noctis alone once more.

 

The blue-eyed savior was gone for awhile longer than Noctis had been expecting and the longer Noctis sat out on the balcony alone, the more he wished Ignis would come back. 

 

Back home, Noctis didn’t have a lot of friends. In fact, he was pretty sure it was safe to say he had slim to none. He had people that he knew, people that talked to him, but no one to share his secrets with or complain to about unfair situations. Maybe it was because he was a prince and others assumed that there couldn't possibly be a reason for him to be unhappy and usually, he would agree. 

 

His father was a caring and loving man. He didn't have a lot of time to spend with Noctis, especially during those important younger years, but he had been there when it mattered and that had been enough for Noctis at the time. His mother had passed when he was younger and though he didn't remember much of her, when he thought back about her he didn't feel any discomfort or anger, only warmth. His guard was probably his closest acquaintance and even then, he was pretty sure Nyx would take the first chance he had to toss Noctis into a trench if he could. 

 

Noctis didn't exactly make his life easy with his disappearing acts and this was definitely the biggest one he had ever pulled, but who could blame him? 

 

It wasn't until the sun started to hide itself behind the trees that Noctis finally gathered himself up and headed inside. His skin was still warm to the touch, but his cheeks had cooled down considerably as he stepped inside Ignis’ home once more. At first, he didn't see the boy he was looking for as he glanced around the first room and then towards the kitchen (was that what Ignis had called it before?). His eyebrows knitted together as he went to turn down the hallway. 

 

That was when he heard the singing. 

 

It wasn't very loud and it wasn't like a song Noctis’ kind would sing to attract sailors from their protected ships. No, it was soothing and for once it was the siren getting called as he followed the sound curiously. 

 

Of course, it had to be Ignis, he knew, because the other boy was the only other one that was here currently, yet Noctis doubted that fact for a moment. The voice.. It seemed lower than Ignis usual speaking tone and Noctis had come to nearly memorize that one. He needed to in order to sleep well at night, listening out for if there were any other voices besides Ignis and Prompto’s nearby. So far, that hadn’t happened yet and he had been able to sleep in peace.

 

A weak wobble later, Noctis’ fingers were curling around the doorframe. He kept his steps light as he leaned forward just enough to be able to peek into the room. There before him was Ignis, standing in front of the transparent mirror against the wall. His back was towards Noctis, which block the siren’s view of whatever Ignis was doing. He didn’t want to disturb the boy, not when he seemed so relaxed with himself while singing, but of course with Noctis being clumsy on his new legs, he lost balance and fell over. Sadly, his body wasn’t the only thing that crashed into the floor. As he had attempted to grab for the doorframe with his other hand in some last ditch effort to stay straight, his hand had slipped and knocked the frame containing a photo of Ignis and Prompto down with him. 

 

His elbows hit the hard flooring and seconds later sharp shards of glass were scattering next to him. Noctis ignored the disappointment settling in his stomach when his fall made the singing stop. This was why he couldn’t have nice things. 

 

A groan left Noctis as he pushed himself up onto his forearms, peeling his bare side off the wood floor, but before he could complain, hands were coming down to rest against his bicep.

 

“Are you alright?” Ignis asked, sounding genuinely worried. It was a nice feeling - having someone be genuinely worried about him - which was the only reason Noctis didn’t shove Ignis touch off him. Humans really were too casual with their touching.

 

“I.. Broke your photo.” he breathed as his blue eyes scanned the floor behind Ignis, checking the damage he had caused. “Was it valuable?”

 

“It’s fixable, do not concern yourself with that. Let’s get you up,” Ignis brushed off as though there wasn’t a mess on the floor beside them. Instead, the boy had put all his efforts and concern into getting an arm around Noctis’ hips as the other held his bicep. He lifted him as if Noctis weighed nothing and whereas under the water’s surface, he didn’t, he knew that here on land, he did. Perhaps the most disorienting thing about the weight issue though was the fact that Noctis’ tail was significantly heavier than these silly land legs he was sporting.

 

By the time Noctis was getting back on his feet, Ignis was so close that once again Noctis could smell him. He was starting to hate just how much he liked the scent of Ignis, but he pushed those thoughts away for now as his hands awkwardly slid up to hold at Ignis’ elbows.

 

“Perhaps we should consider upping your leg exercises,” Ignis said. 

 

Ah yes, the exercises. That excruciatingly annoying thing Ignis woke him up early for every morning. Did the boy not know what  _ sleeping _ was? Or maybe he simply just didn’t care. A sigh left him as Ignis start to guide him into the closest room. The one he had just been creeping on Ignis in. Hopefully, Ignis hadn’t noticed that part and instead just thought that Noctis was trying to make his way through the house.

 

“It may help to strengthen your legs with stretches as well. Easy stuff to start with and then slowly move up to balancing exercises. It will prove useful for when we take you out of the house,” the other explained and that part had Noctis panicking for a slight moment.

 

“Out of the house?” 

 

“I would think you wouldn’t want to spend all your time held up in the house. It would start to feel like a cage after a while, would it not?” Ignis questioned as he set Noctis up to stand in the middle of the room before stepping back himself. Suddenly, there were a few steps between them and Ignis’ forearms were slipping from Noctis’ grasp. His fingers instinctively curled in tighter around Ignis’ limbs, desperately trying to hold onto them in fear he would fall again. “Don’t worry, Noctis,” Ignis cooed easily, “I have you. I won’t let you fall.”

 

For a moment, it was like time stood still. Ignis waited patiently across from him, allowing his arms to be clawed into so Noctis’ felt the security of balance. Nothing was said as they waited, but Noctis did shake his head eventually, deciding against this. That was the moment he offered Ignis something else in return for his patience in not pushing him.

 

He offered personal information. Something Ignis had been trying to pull out of him since the moment they met. Noctis figured this was easier than falling and embarrassing himself again.

 

“I’m twenty years old,” he whispered and he didn’t miss the way Ignis appeared to immediately give his attention toward Noctis. “I was born at the end of summer, when the water is just starting to get cold again. We don’t use.. Days like you humans do.”

 

“Dates.”

 

“What?”

 

“We call them ‘dates’ when referring to a specific day. For instance, the date of your birth,” Ignis explained.

 

“‘Dates,’” Noctis repeated. He swore it was like he was learning a whole new language he longer he stayed up here. Even if he understood it, he didn’t know all the terminology. That wasn’t a very comforting feeling. Just like attempting to stay straight up while standing wasn’t. “Okay, we don’t use  _ dates _ like you do. We use the seasons, the moon, and the tides to establish our time,” he finished.

 

“The end of summer,” Ignis started while slowly taking a step back. He was encouraging Noctis to move forward so he could keep his grip on Ignis, Noctis knew that much and he hated how it worked. The idea of standing without anything near him to grab onto? He didn’t like that so much, so he took the step to keep Ignis close. “That is late August, early September. In  _ human _ terms.” He was teasing, Noctis sensed it in Ignis’ small, but playful smile. It took everything in Noctis not to smile back. Ignis’ kindness was starting to catch on.

 

_ Unfortunately _ .

 

“Are those dates?”

 

“No,” Ignis chuckled lightly. “They are months. We have twelve of them. They use the moon cycles to determine them as well.” Okay, so at least they have some sort of time similarity there. “I was born in the winter. For us, it falls in the month of February.”

 

“How old are you?” 

 

“Twenty-two,” Ignis replied easily enough while taking another step back. A frown settled on Nocts’ lips, but he took the step forward anyway. He wavered for a second, making his fingers dig into Ignis’ skin a little more before his balance seemed to come back.  _ Good _ . He was making progress. 

 

“What month is it now?” He asked out of curiosity. 

 

“It’s June,” Ignis supplied. “And the date is the thirtieth. Tomorrow will be July.”

 

Noctis processed that information, nodding to acknowledge that he heard the boy, but then he remembered other information that had been given to him. Ignis was a student. Not just any kind of student either. No, he studied the sea life. That was something Noctis was immensely interested in and maybe it would give them something more to converse on.

 

“You said you liked the ocean, right? That you enjoyed studying it?” 

 

“I do,” Ignis agreed before moving to catch Noctis at the hip when he dipped a little lower than he should have on the next step.

 

“What is your favorite creature to look at?” Noctis asked and he told himself his heart did not flutter when Ignis’ smile got wider.

 

“At the risk of sounding like some lame human, seeing as you have a wider vast of knowledge pertaining to sea creatures, I spend a lot of time looking at the anemones in the tide pools by the cliffs. I find them fascinating.”

 

“Anemones?” Noctis laughed before realizing how rude he must be for doing so. It wasn’t Ignis’ fault he didn’t know where to find the cooler things under the water. “I don’t mean to laugh, really. It’s just..They’re so  _ common _ . I thought you would have picked something more exotic.”

 

“Like what?” 

 

“Well,” Noctis hummed before licking across his lips in thought. What would grab Ignis’ attention? Oh! He knew! “There is this little octopus that lies deeper than the rest of them and it literally fits into the palm of your hands. They are these bright colored little things with fins on top of their heads. They are the sweetest things, will swim around with you and nudge against you. Their eyes are so big and cute,” he found himself gushing, even smiling, as he described them. Oh, how he missed visiting them.

 

“Do they grow bigger?” Ignis asked, sounding genuinely interested.

 

“Not really, no. They stay that size. I try to protect them from the bigger predators, but I can’t be there all the time.” Like now..

 

“You really like them, don’t you?”

 

“They.. Aren’t the worst things in the world,” Noctis tried to shrug off before sighing and shaking his head. “I can’t do this anymore. It’s starting to hurt. Can we stop for now?” Noctis asked while looking at Ignis from under his lashes.

 

“Of course. We really should go easy on your thigh. We can pick this back up tomorrow morning as usual,” Ignis said.

 

Noctis was led to the couch after that, in the perfect sunny spot in the corner. So it was no surprise that the moment he was left alone with the sun beating down on him once more, he slowly dozed off as he listened to Ignis cleaning up the glass mess in the hallway.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Come and visit me [here](http://sweaterpawnoctis.tumblr.com)!


End file.
